Mad Marv certainly has nothing to be angry about

15Apr

Mad Marv. Photo courtesy of madmarvsplace.com.

Were it not for the lighted beer signs in the front windows and a parking lot full of cars at lunch and dinner times, you’d have no idea you had arrived at Mad Marv’s Place, a bar and grill at 102 Center St. in tiny Fruitland, Iowa.

Numerous lunch and dinner specials, which are spelled out in detail on the restaurant’s website, madmarvsplace.com, really pack people in. The evening specials are served 4:30 to 9 or until they are gone.

My wife and I were there on a Friday night and arrived shortly about 4:40. We were among just four or five customers when we went in. But by the time we left 45 minutes later, there were an estimated 50 hungry people on hand, many seated in groups of 6 to 12, enjoying the food and conversation. Mad Marv certainly had nothing to be angry about.

During our visit, my wife ordered a walleye filet dinner for $8. It came with a dinner roll and a choice of two sides: cottage cheese, cole slaw, house salad or homemade seasonal soup, baked potato, hash browns, American fries, French fries or beer-battered sidewinder fries. She chose the house salad and sidewinder fries, which are curly, large slices of fried potatoes.

I opted for the smallest (at 10 ounces) of four available sizes of prime rib, with dinner roll and two sides, for $19.75. They slow roast their prime rib and bring it up to the desired temperature on a charcoal grill. It was delicious and fairly tender. For sides I also had the house salad and sidewinder fries.

Mad Marv’s, which also often offers drink specials, is closed on Sundays and Mondays, but open the other five days of the week. Doors open at 11 a.m. Closing times vary; check the website.